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Defence minister heads to France to discuss military cooperation

Defence Minister Mohamed Zaki arrived in France for a two-day official visit to meet with high-ranking military officials and discuss cooperation between the two countries. Zaki is expected to discuss a number of issues of common interest between Egypt and France, as well as topics related to regional and international developments in the Middle East. …

Defence Minister Mohamed Zaki arrived in France for a two-day official visit to meet with high-ranking military officials and discuss cooperation between the two countries.

Zaki is expected to discuss a number of issues of common interest between Egypt and France, as well as topics related to regional and international developments in the Middle East.

This is the first foreign tour for the minister after taking office three weeks ago.

The relations between the two countries have seen a strong improvement since the election of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, as a number of significant arms deals were sealed in recent years, after Egypt had previously been almost exclusively supplied with arms by the US.

The Egyptian armed forces are equipped with an array of French military hardware, including Mirage and Alpha Jet fighter planes, Gazelle helicopters, and communications equipment. France also offers training at its military academies to several Egyptian officers every year.

The latest wider defence deal between Egypt and France, which is worth €5.2bn all-in-all, includes the purchase of 24 Rafale fighter jets. The deal is financed with the help of a €3.2bn loan by the French government, which was already in place for the last arms deal between the two countries, which was extended to the new one after France sold four Gowind-class corvettes to Egypt in 2014.